Göteborgare, liberal, fd riksdagsledamot

They are both coming to Sweden, the Beatle Ringo Starr and his All Starr band and Julian Assange from Wikileaks. But it could not have been for more different reasons. Ringo Starr, the celebrated ex Beatle is coming to Gothenburg this summer to play at Liseberg the 10th of June. That is a show that I will not miss, especially as it is in my own home town! I will also try to seize the moment to get an interview with Ringo for our club Swedish Parliament Beatles Society while he is here. I really look forward to his coming here, it’s going to be so cool to hear him play. Welcome to Gothenburg Ringo!

I have seen and heard Paul McCartney twice, but never Ringo. I am really looking forward to his concert. And if McCartney decided to do a guest appearance happiness would be complete. If Paul has got the time, he is writing a ballet, ”Oceans Kingdom” at the moment for the New York City Ballet. Is there anything he cannot do? He is the most versatile musician of all times, no doubt about that.

A London court ruled this morning that Julian Assange, a world famous data hacker from Wikileaks, faces extradition to Sweden over alleged sexual offences. The judge said that he had not been persuaded by the arguments of Mr Assange’s defence team and that they had tried to mislead the court. Judge Riddle also dismissed the arguments that the sexual offences about which Swedish prosecutors wish to question Mr Assange would not constitute an offence in British law. In Great Britain this would amount to rape, the judge said. Several of his financial backers, the celebrity activist Jemima Khan and Bianca Jagger, were also at the court.

After the appeal, Assange is inevitably coming to Sweden. But this is a visit we could have done without. And I do wonder, if the Assange defence lied in the Brittish Court, what will they say here? And it makes me a wee bit sad to note that they happily smear a whole country with deliberate lies. The right thing to do would have been to come to Sweden, face the music and take responsibility for his own actions. Guilty or not is for the court to decide, not Assange himself. But on the other hand, this will give him plenty of time to get someone to help him with his autobiography. Assange is reported in media to have been offered a multi million deal for it. That’s one book I will not put on my Christmas wishlist, although I appreciate the genre Fantasy.